Signaling mechanism.



No. 893,993. PATENTED JULY 21, 1908.

w. H. GILMAN.

SIGNALING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 25. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Zfla'neses. 3' 50/77/2507? 9% W; 7 w 7 No. 893,993. PATENTED JULY 21, 1908. W. H. GILMAN. SIGNALING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED APR. 25.1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

M F A M Q T b 71 N N M: W M. Lg vuw MN #1 Q 7, $31 KN m? v Q N R\%\ \N m m X m L MEN lumeni077 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLARD H. GILMAN, OF MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO INTERNATIONAL TELEM- ETER COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF ARIZONA TERRL TORY;

SIGNALING rmcimmsu.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 21, 1908.

Application filed April 25, 1907. Serial No. 370,171.

To all whom it may concern:

Be-it known that I, WILLARD H. GILMAN,

tain new and useful Improvements in Signaling Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention has reference to signaling mechanism, and more particularly to automatic means for transmitting a predetermined return signal from a distant station to a home or controlling station.

.Its principal objects are to provide asimple and eflective apparatus. of this character which will be .noninterfering when several are included-in a single line circuit.

In the accompanying'drawings, in which similar characters designate like parts throughout the several views,Figure 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of the apparatus. Fig. 2is a front. elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a erspective view of the detent mechanism an more/closely associated parts, and Fig. 5 shows diagrammatically a signaling circuit in which my improved apparatus maybe included.

A base 10, preferably of insulating material, is shown as supporting an electro-magnet 11 and motor mechanism, the latter being shown as furnishedby clock work M, only the more essential parts of which are here illustrated, including" a sprin manner to permit'a certain amount of'independent rotation, and an intermediate spindle 15. Secured to the spindle to rotate there- 17. An unbroken portion of the edge of the a disk and these projections maintain cooperaf tion between an upper spring contact member 18 and a lower contact member or anvil 19, but when the depressions pass over the spring itis permitted to le e the anvil.

The rotation of the =di 16 under the influenceof the clockwork is controlled by an escapement, which may comprise a pair of studs or stop projections 20 21 extending from the front and rear, respectively, of the disk and occupying different angular positions about it, and a cooperating compound detent N. This detent has a main ortion 22 pivoted upon a bracket 23, here s own as'secured to the front plate of the clock work, and being 13, a fly 14 frictionally engaging its spind e in the usual adapted to move horizontally. The portion 22 is provided at the extremity of an angular extension with a cam slot 24 to receive a stud 25 projecting from the armature 26 of magnet 11, said armature being pivoted upon a standard 27 risingfrom the base. A roll 27 may be mounted upon the stud to reduce the friction between it and the wall of the slot 24.

When released by the magnet, the armature is retracted to swing the detent to the posi ing its extension 29. to an adjusting screw 30 rotatable in a post 31. The portion 22 of the detent has pivoted upon it by means of opposite perforated lugs 32 32, a second detent portlon 33, independently movable in a plane at right angles to the first. This second portion is bifurcated, it having two arms 34 35 tion shown in Fig. 1 by a spring 28 connectextending upon opposite sides of the edge of the disk 16, and which may be carried by the swing of the main portion 22 beneath the studs 20 and 21, respectively. The ortion- 33 is also provided with-a comparative y long angular arm 36 having a hooked extremit 37 which may engage thefiy 14 of the cloc work. A spiral spring 38 extending between the detent portions 22 and 33 exerts its ten sion to tilt the last-named portion back to the osition indicated in dottedlines in Fig. 2 w en it has been disengaged by the disk studs,

When the armature of the return signal mechanism isin its normal retracted position the hook 37 engages the fiy and the stud. 20

.rests upon the arm 34, the disk occu y'ing the position indicated in Fig. 2 of the rawings, with its unbroken portion holding the spring 18 on the anvil. When the magnet 11 attracts its armature the detent is swung outwardly, carrying the arm 34 from be neath the stud 20 and freeing the disk." This leaves the portion 33 of the detent at liberty to be raised b the action of the spring 38, releasing the y. The disk is then rotated by the clock work to advance the depressions in its rim over the s ring- 18 to "open and closev the circuit of whic the contacts 18 and 19 form a part, and thereby transmit a code signal depending for its character upon the relative length of the depressions and projections. passed .the s ring the stud' 21 reaches the arm 35, whic now lies in its path, pressing it down and causing the hook 37 to a ain engage thefly, thereby'stopping the 0100 work.

After these depressions have The disk continues to rotate for a short distance or until the outer extremity of the portion 33 reaches its limit of downward movement, when the entire return signal mechanism is brought to a stop. Upon the retraction of the armature by its spring after the deenergiza'tion of the electro magnet, the disk is again released and turns through a small angle or until engagement takes place between the stud 20 and the arm 34, the action being similar to that just described.

The mechanism is now ready to send another signal.

Attention is called to the fact that upon the arrest of the clock work by the detent for either movement of the armature, the operation is initiated by the conjoint action of the arm 36 and the fly, and the mechanism is thus gradually slowed down until it is" brought to a positive stop by the contact of one of the studs with its arm. This diminishes the force with which the studs are pressed against said arms and renders the re-- sultant movement of the detent therefrom easier.

The return signal mechanism also has, in addition to the members 18 and 19, a pair of contacts comprising an upper spring 39 and a spring anv1l 40 mounted upon standards 41 rising from the base. As the apparatus is normally positioned, or when the stud 20 rests upon the detent, these contacts are separated by the action of the spring memher, but after the disk 16 has completed its signal and the stud 21 engages the detent the contacts 39 and 40 are brought together by a cam projection 42 rotatable with the s indle 15, and there maintained until the etent releases the stud 21 to allow the elemerits to assume theirinitial positions,whereupon the cam projection allows the contacts 39 and .40 to open.

The operation of the apparatus may be best considered in connection with the diagram shown in Fig. 5. Here is represented ortions of a signaling system, including a .ome station A provided with a main batter a, a pole changer a and a neutral relay d or the control of a local sounder circuit, all these elements being connected in the main line L; The line has at least two distant stations B B each equipped with some suitable mechanism 0 which is adapted to roduce locally a visual or audible signal. his mechanism includes a pair of contacts 0, which, for the pur oses of thisinvention may be assumed asc gsed when the si nal is effective and to be capableof contro from the home station independently of the other distant stations. The means for securing such selective control need not be here considered, since it forms no art of the present invention. Each station B also has a polarized relay D provided with an armature d tion of the battery -a.

and an active contact stop d and one of my -r i i i t I return Slgnal mechanlsms, 'lndlcated COI1' ventionally at E. The winding of the polarized relay is connected in the line L in series and wishes to ascertain that it has been properly done that is, that thesignal is in action at the correct station. By means of the pole changer a he reverses the connecarmature of the polarized relays at all distant stations to their stops (1. Now since the contacts 0 at B are closed, whilethose at B are open, because the apparatus C at the latter is not in action, the local circuit any of the former is completed, energizing the magnet 11 so that the armature 26 is attracted and the detent mechanism operated to release the clock work and disk 16. The depressions in the disk allow the spring 18 to open the line,.causing the relay a at the home station to give a correspondin signal, this being indicative of the station T3, since each station would be provided with apparatus in which the disk depressions were differently arranged. A reversal of the pole changer will restore the detent to its first position and prepare the mechanism for another answer-back signal. The clock work M must, of course, be'wound at suitable intervals.

It may happen that after the home station has closed the contacts 0 at one distant station and before they have opened again it may become desirable to close the similar contacts at another station. In shifting the polechanger to get the return signal from this second station, the attendant at the home station would again release the mech- This transfers the I anism at station B, which was first si naled,

by the consequent movement of its 0 arized relay and a jumble of signals wouid result. This, however, is prevented by the path maintained for the current through the guard portion 2 of the circuit oar z by the contacts 39 40 independently of the stop (1, said contacts being held together by the cam projection 42 while contacts 0 are in their closed or signal actuating position. This complete closure of said circuit, irrespective of the osition of the armature ofthe olarized rea retains the armature 26 o thereturn signal mechanism attracted and no answerback can be sent by any previously operated station mechanism C which is in control of its signals until the return signal'circuit has opened in its contacts 39 40. Then prising a signaling contact device, motor mechanism for operating the contact device, an electro-magnet, a member serving to control the contact device and its motor mechanism and being movable under the attraction of the magnet, and a second contact device included in the circuit of the electromagnet and being operable under the influence of the motor mechanism after the'transmission of a signal by the first named contact device and before the production of the suc-.

ceeding signal.

2. A signal transmitting apparatus, comprising a contact device, 'motor mechanism for operating the contact device, and electro mechanical means for first graduall T checking the motor mechanism and t erewith positively stopping it.

3. A signal transmitting apparatus, comprising a contact device, motor mechanism for operating the contact device having members rotatable with it by frictional and positive engagement, and electro -mechanical means successively cooperating with said members.

4. A signal transmitting apparatus, comprising a contact device, motor mechanism for operating the contact device and having members rotatable with it by frictional and positive engagement, and electro-mechanical means for cooperating first with the frictionally engaged member and finally with the positively engaged member.

5. The combination with a rotatable contact member, of motor mechanism therefor, stop members rotatable with the contact member and occu ying difl'erent angular positions with relation thereto, detent mech anism cooperatin with the stop members and also with an e ement of the motor mechanism, and electro-magnetic means for moving the detent mechanism.

6. The combination with a rotatable contact member, of motor mechanism therefor, stop members rotatable with the contact member and occupying difierent angular positions with relation thereto, detent mechanism cooperating with the stop members and also with the motor mechanism, and electro-magnetic means for moving the detent mechanism, the portion of the detent mechanism cooperating with the motor mechanism having a releasing and engaging movement different from that portion cooperating with the stop members.

7. The combination with a rotatable contact member, of motor mechanism therefor, stop members rotatable with the contact member, detent mechanism having arms alternately cooperating with the sto members and an arm independently mova le in a different plane for cooperation with motor mechanism, and electro-magnetic means for moving the detent mechanism.

8. In a signal-transmitting apparatus, the combination with clock work provided with a fly, of a disk rotatable by the clock work and having opposite stop projections, a contact device associated with the disk, detent mechanism provided with arms for alternate en agement with the stop projections and an in ependent arm for engagement with the fly, and means for actuating the detent mechanism.

9. In a signal transmittin apparatus, the combination with clock wor rovided with a fly, of a disk rotatable by t e clock work and having opposite projections, a contact device associated with the disk, detent mechanism provided with arms for alternate en gagementwith the projections and an independent armfor engagement with the fly, means for actuating the detent mechanism, a cam member rotatable with the disk, and a contact device operable b the cam member.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

WILLARD -H. GILMAN. Witnesses i O. F. BROWN, E. BARCHELDER. 

